(I am not very happy about Ubuntu,
but Xubuntu is usable,
and Debian 9.2 still has a lot of issues hanging out the rear.)

So no mainline suppport yet. Thanks!

Originally Posted by theonelaw

The wifi is the hopeless Broadcom,
but nevermind - it does work in close quarters.

Yuck!

Originally Posted by theonelaw

get a better screen shield (the GD one is junk)

In terms of visibility or durability?

Originally Posted by theonelaw

get a spare power brick make sure it has the quick charge spec

Does that mean the original one is underpowered?

Originally Posted by theonelaw

Some have created a variety of images
and the driver issue argues in favor of :
* Get the Win10 device (not the GPD Ubuntu)

Ok thanks, I'm out again! There's no way I'm going to let a MS OS run on hardware that has my data on it.
I'm not even desperate enough to buy HW that boosts the MS sales counter by having a MS license preinstalled.

Some might argue this is a good thing.
Not getting bogged down into the software means
the makers are free to focus on hardware.$ product,
but if they devoted more of their limited resources to software
they may not have enough left over to make functional hardware.

In terms of visibility or durability?

Just ugly and glossy.

Does that mean the original one is underpowered?

Not underpowered but if you lose it or break it,
better to have something on hand proven to work.
Hunting for something good takes time

Ok thanks, I'm out again! There's no way I'm going to let a MS OS run on hardware that has my data on it.
I'm not even desperate enough to buy HW that boosts the MS sales counter by having a MS license preinstalled.

I know - this is still not System76 or Purism league philosophy.

But it is available now, and can run linux very well

__________________
Three n900s: One for stable working platform,
One for development testing Chopping Onions
One for saltwater immersion power testing resurrected ! parts scavenging

I know I'm not the center of the world and I usually try to see the good side of things that are not my cup of tea, but I'm really having a hard time here.
How can not mainlining the sources be a good thing?

Originally Posted by theonelaw

Not getting bogged down into the software means
the makers are free to focus on hardware.$ product,
but if they devoted more of their limited resources to software
they may not have enough left over to make functional hardware.

I'm sure if they just dumped the code somewhere under a Free license as it is someone would pick it up and mainline it.
It's so easy that not doing it can't even be attributed to lazyness.

Originally Posted by theonelaw

I know - this is still not System76 or Purism league philosophy.

I can't judge System76, but I'm not all that impressed by Purism in terms of philosophy.
Sure, they occasionally release a nice piece of HW, but I think they are making way too much fuss around it compared to what they actually deliver. In my eyes it's far beyond "good marketing".

Originally Posted by theonelaw

But it is available now, and can run linux very well

The same thing could be said about the N900 8 years ago, and look what we have now:
A device running hopelessly outdated software (in terms of security, not end-user features) that was basically broken right from the start (Maemo is, and has always been, dependency hell at its worst).
No other ~10 years old system I still run (and I run some) is in such a bad shape software-wise.
The only redeeming qualities that still make me use the N900 are 1. that it happens to be able to make phone calls, 2. that it fits into my pocket and 3. that there are no other devices fulfilling 1 and 2 while still giving me a GNU/Linux system of some sort without running an OS underneath it that is known for spying on me.

So no, with respect to the N900 story, a device running Linux on a non-mainlined kernel does not qualify as "running linux very well" in my book.